Red honey gourami vs sunset thick lipped gourami

[gouramiami57]

This was sold to me as trichogaster chuna 
(red honey gourami) from aqua Huna and I’ve seen some debate online of whether or not some of these fish are thicklipped or not.

I have 2 of them in a 20G high tank with $60 dollars worth of cherry shrimp and I was completely banking on them being honey gouramis of the peaceful type that don’t get big.

[Lennie]

Those are domestic red form of thick-lipped gouramis

[gouramiami57]

 

On 12/16/2023 at 3:30 AM, Lennie said:

Those are domestic red form of thick-lipped gouramis

Are my shrimp going to be ok for a few days until I figure out what to do? The gourami are still relatively small but I think we might have issues once they grow up. 

Edited December 16, 2023 by gouramiami57

[Lennie]

On 12/17/2023 at 12:06 AM, gouramiami57 said:

 

Are my shrimp going to be ok for a few days until I figure out what to do? They’re still relatively small but I think we might have issues once they grow up. 

It is usually the same with most fish. Shrimp are food to most. Although big fish or predators, or let's say fish with big mouth overall tend to go for (and hunt) shrimp more. Majority of peaceful community nano tank fish leave juvenile and adult shrimp alone in my experience. They are more likely to show interest to tiny babies and snack on those  but leave the big juveniles and adults alone. Having a lot of plants, hiding places etc would increase the survival rate of babies and let adults to have safe time when they are fragile like molting time.

I dont think these two would specifically do more harm to shrimps than if you actually got honeys. They just look the same size on sale as juveniles. It is always good to observe their behavior and see if they show any interest to harm shrimp, just in case.

@Cinnebuns has both honey gouramis and thicklipped ones so maybe she can help better for their shrimp topic. I only have honey, sparkling and gold gouramis, so I dont have experience with thicklipped ones myself. 

[Cinnebuns]

On 12/16/2023 at 3:06 PM, gouramiami57 said:

 

Are my shrimp going to be ok for a few days until I figure out what to do? The gourami are still relatively small but I think we might have issues once they grow up. 

Technically there are very few, if any fish that are fully safe with neocaridina shrimp. Gourami are no exception. They are definitely large enough to eat some and will get larger. Thick-lipped gourami are just as peaceful as honey but both gourami types will eat neocaridina shrimp. If you want to keep these fish with neocaridina shrimp you have to be ok with some losses. You will need lots of hiding places for the shrimp. It also helps a ton if you establish the shrimp colony first so they are producing faster than they are eaten although those who are good with shrimp can make it happen without this step. 

[gouramiami57]

On 12/16/2023 at 4:15 PM, Lennie said:

It is usually the same with most fish. Shrimp are food to most. Although big fish or predators, or let's say fish with big mouth overall tend to go for (and hunt) shrimp more. Majority of peaceful community nano tank fish leave juvenile and adult shrimp alone in my experience. They are more likely to show interest to tiny babies and snack on those  but leave the big juveniles and adults alone. Having a lot of plants, hiding places etc would increase the survival rate of babies and let adults to have safe time when they are fragile like molting time.

I dont think these two would specifically do more harm to shrimps than if you actually got honeys. They just look the same size on sale as juveniles. It is always good to observe their behavior and see if they show any interest to harm shrimp, just in case.

@Cinnebuns has both honey gouramis and thicklipped ones so maybe she can help better for their shrimp topic. I only have honey, sparkling and gold gouramis, so I dont have experience with thicklipped ones myself. 

 

On 12/16/2023 at 7:08 PM, Cinnebuns said:

Technically there are very few, if any fish that are fully safe with neocaridina shrimp. Gourami are no exception. They are definitely large enough to eat some and will get larger. Thick-lipped gourami are just as peaceful as honey but both gourami types will eat neocaridina shrimp. If you want to keep these fish with neocaridina shrimp you have to be ok with some losses. You will need lots of hiding places for the shrimp. It also helps a ton if you establish the shrimp colony first so they are producing faster than they are eaten although those who are good with shrimp can make it happen without this step. 

 

Oh ok I see, that makes sense. Even though I am fairly new to the hobby I consider myself to be good with shrimp, I had them breeding in a 10 gallon with 8 neon tetras without even buying a special breeding pack. I have a lot of rock tumbles and caves, and the tank is moderately planted. Unfortunately my plants still need a few months to grow into the tank entirely though 😞 . So currently they spend most of their day hiding .

 

So far they haven't showed any specific interest in hunting the shrimp besides startling them and nibbling on their algae wafers occasionally. In your experience is there any indication that this behavior would change when they reach their full size?

[Cinnebuns]

On 12/16/2023 at 10:36 PM, gouramiami57 said:

 

 

Oh ok I see, that makes sense. Even though I am fairly new to the hobby I consider myself to be good with shrimp, I had them breeding in a 10 gallon with 8 neon tetras without even buying a special breeding pack. I have a lot of rock tumbles and caves, and the tank is moderately planted. Unfortunately my plants still need a few months to grow into the tank entirely though 😞 . So currently they spend most of their day hiding .

 

So far they haven't showed any specific interest in hunting the shrimp besides startling them and nibbling on their algae wafers occasionally. In your experience is there any indication that this behavior would change when they reach their full size?

Its hard to say. They tend to be a fish that wanders all over the tank. They will feed both from the surface and from the ground. I had one that would literally only feed from the bottom once and another that would feed from both but prefer the bottom whereas the one I have now rarely wants to feed from the bottom. I think that would likely be the larger factor here. If they are ones who enjoy bottom feeding more then they will adventure to that part of the tank more often and have food on the mind. 

[Shrimptanks]

I highly recommend Boraras Rasboras like Chili's or Strawberries if you must have a fish with your shrimp.  Or pygmy species of corydoras.  I currently have like 200 bloody mary babies running around my tank with Habrosus and Hastatus corydoras.  The rasboras I moved but they weren't denting my shrimp population either.